Quill crossed the street and followed the homemade sign reading Powder Valley. The graveled road was at least a mile long, leading to the track. She didn’t mind, and actually enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day out, and she liked being able to just go for a walk. Her father would have never permitted her to do that.
She sat on a log when she answered her cellphone.
“What’s up, brat?” Seri asked.
Aquilla smiled. “Not much, going for a walk. What are you up to?”
“Trying to do girl things.”
“Girl things?”
“Yeah, you know, dust, run the sweeper, laundry, all the shit girls are expected to do.”
“No, I really don’t know about that stuff. I had servants, remember?”
“Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting that you were a spoiled little rich bitch. How’d the test go?”
“It was gravy. I could have taken it with my eyes closed.”
“What is that noise?” Seri wanted to know.
“I’m on a gravel road where that race track is. I’m gonna walk back there and check it out.”
“Is it safe?”
“I don’t know. If it’s not, I’ll just have to kick some ass.”
Seri laughed. “Good point. Okay. Stay out of trouble. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, see ya.”
Aquilla ignored the no trespassing sign during restricted hours. She walked through where you would stop and buy your tickets to get in and around the bleachers. She stood in front of the bleachers with her fingers clasped through the fence wire while she watched the one and only car.
She had never been to a race track, but was sure this was in the lower class of the sport. The only car that had a green number 18 looked more like a piece of junk than a race car. It spitted and sputtered as the guy tried to get it up to speed on the straight stretch.
She noticed a couple of other guys working on cars in the pits as the driver pulled right up to the fence. He killed the loud engine and slid out the window. She wondered why he climbed out the window rather than opening the door.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked.
“No. I was just watching,” she replied.
“You’re not really supposed to be here when were closed,” he smiled.
“Why? Do you own the place?” she smartly asked.
“Yeah, well, sort of, not really, my uncle owns it. Hey…I know you. You’re that kidnapped girl, Shelby Rimmer,” he announced, recognizing her from the news.
“I’m not Shelby Rimmer. My name’s Quill.”
“Patchette,” he offered, sticking his finger through the fence for a shake. It was the only thing that would fit.
Aquilla locked her index finger and quickly shook. “Patchette? What kind of name is that?”
“What kind of name is Quill?” he countered. She laughed. “Patchette’s my last name.”
“You don’t use your first name?”
“It’s Eugene. Would you?” he smiled.
“No, I would go by Patchette too.”
“Okay. Well, I guess its okay if you watch, just don’t steal anything, litter, graffiti or flush tampons down the toilet. I hate digging that nasty shit out.”
“Yeah, sure,” she laughed.
She sat on the bottom bleacher and watched as another car joined him. She found herself rooting for him as they drove neck and neck on the straight parts of the track. She wanted to watch a real race. It was exciting and she couldn’t imagine watching a track full of cars doing it.
Liz- You okay? She read the text.
Quill- yeah, fine.
Liz- I am going to head out for a friend’s birthday party. Do you want to come?
Quill- No.
Liz- Okay. I won’t be late. Head back soon.
Fuck you.
Quill- Yeah, okay.
Quill started back about an hour later. She wanted to make sure her mother had plenty of time to leave before she got back. It looked like the guys were done running around the track anyway. They had both retired to the pits. She walked down the gravel road, pulling prairie grass and letting it run through her fingers as she walked.
Quill stepped to the side when she heard the loud exhaust, turning slightly to see a big white Ford with wide tires and lots of chrome.
“Need a ride?” Patchette asked, rolling down his window.
“No, thanks, I don’t live far from here,” she replied.
“Okay, come back tomorrow night and you can watch me take first,” he offered.
“Thanks, I might just do that,” she lied. She knew that her mother wasn’t going to let her walk there after dark. She should get her license.
Aquilla showered and lay on the couch, watching Law and Oder. She loved that show, and USA was having a marathon. She could watch all 15 seasons and never watch a rerun. The lead character, Olivia, reminded her of Seri, minus the fact that Seri was sinfully beautiful.
She loved being home alone. She could easily live alone. She felt content being home alone, and would find her own place in a heartbeat if she wasn’t under her mother’s custody. She made herself a can of vegetable and rice soup and sat on the sofa, engrossed in why this guy was killing college students.
It was only nine o’clock when Liz got home. Jesus. Why couldn’t she stay out longer? Quill was into her new favorite show and didn’t want to be interrupted by her mother’s need to talk. She was beginning to wish she hadn’t refused the television for her room.
“You could have stayed out later,” Quill assured her in a pleasant tone.
“I was afraid you’d get lonely. What are you doing?”
Hmmm, could she not see what she was doing? Did it really need an explanation?
“Just watching television.”
“You watch this show a lot,” Liz said, turning to the TV.
“Yeah, I love it. I think I should be a forensic scientist or something, maybe I’ll follow in Seri’s footsteps,” she added, turning back to her show.
“I think I would feel better if you followed in mine or your fathers,” Liz, admitted, slipping her heels to the floor. She didn’t like the thought of her doing what Seri did one bit.
“Hmm, let’s see,” she said, holding both hands in the air as scales. “I could be around a bunch of snot nose six year olds all day,” she said moving one hand higher or, “I could sit in an office and scheme up catchy phrases for advertising,” she countered, moving the other hand up right before dropping them both.
Liz didn’t reply. It was best she didn’t. “Your dad is coming to take you and Reese out for supper and a movie tomorrow night,” she explained instead.
“Great,” Quill replied sarcastically as she turned her attention back to her show.
<><><>
Aquilla, of course, hung out in her room the entire next day, waiting for her so called father to arrive and happily spend the evening with him and her annoying sister. Something had to give. She couldn’t take much more family bonding.
She called Seri and complained. Seri told her to stop being a baby and go spend the evening with her family.
“You said I could come and visit you for a week,” Aquilla reminded her.
“I did. I will talk to your mother this week and arrange it. It can’t be for a couple of weeks because of work stuff, but I promise, I will organize it.”
“I have to go. Liz is yelling for me. I’ll call you later,” Aquilla said.
“Alright, go have fun with your dad and sister,” Seri tried.
“Yeah, okay,” Aquilla replied with the best sarcastic tone she could muster.
“Dad, this party has been planned all summer. You always do this. You don’t show up for a month and then expect me to just drop my plans and do what you want when you show up out of the blue,” Reese complained as Quill descended the stairs.
“Your mother was supposed to tell you,” he countered.
“She did. LAST NIGHT! That’s hardly a notice.”
“I
think you should let her go with her friends,” Quill coaxed, more for her benefit than Reese’s.
“Thanks,” Reese offered.
“Where is this party, and who’s going to be there?” he asked, giving in.
“It’s at Chloe’s house. A lot of people are going to be there and yes, it will be supervised. The boys have to leave by ten and the girls are all camping out.”
Emmanuel looked to Liz to see if he was doing the right thing. She stood with crossed arms and nodded.
“Fine,” he cracked.
“Yes!” Reese exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Do you need a ride?” he asked, hugging her back and kissing her hair.
“No. I’m going to call Lil and tell her to stop and get me on her way. Thanks dad,” she added, disappearing upstairs to gather her things.
“Looks like it’s you and me, kid,” he said, turning to Quill.
“Do you mind if we don’t go out to eat or to a movie?” she asked.
“Not at all, did you have something in mind?”
“I kind of wanted to go to that race track and watch the race.”
Emmanuel raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Okay, we can do that. I wish you would have told me. I would have gotten us tickets to a real race.”
“I’m fine with that one,” she assured him.
“Well, let’s go racing then,” he smiled. “You ready? We have time to eat before the race. I thought we would go to that little Italian place by the school, figured they would have more pasta and green stuff for you,” he joked about her vegetarian status.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” she said, grabbing her jacket.
“Are you staying in town tonight, Manny?” Liz asked.
“No, I have to head back. Why?”
“Just curious, if you’re home before me, lock the door,” Liz told Quill.
“Okay,” Quill replied, trying not to sound as sarcastic as she felt.
“Where are you going?” Emmanuel asked, turning to Liz.
Liz gave him a look without an answer, warning him that it was none of his business.
<><><>
Emmanuel didn’t let Quill have a nice quiet dinner. He talked her ear off, asked a million questions, and rattled on and on about his job that she thought sounded tedious and boring.
Aquilla was surprised by the amount of cars in line for the race. She didn’t think there would be that many people at a place like that.
Her dad paid their way in and followed her to the middle bleachers, front and center. She found herself looking to the pits for the green number 18. She didn’t see him, but there were so many cars down there now that he was probably in the middle or the other end or something.
The first race was some kind of like dune buggy cars that her dad explained were called midget cars. It was fast, loud and exciting. She loved it. The next race was a truck race, which she didn’t care for, and then finally, the stock cars, which her father had to also explain.
Aquilla saw the fluorescent green 18 against the white car door, but it wasn’t the same car. She wasn’t sure if it was Patchette or not. Maybe he was just practicing in an old car. This one looked nice, like a real race car should look.
She knew it was him when the announcer called out the names and the positions of the 21 cars.
“Sitting in the 4th position is Patch Eugene Patchette, but don’t let him hear you call him Eugene,” he announced. Aquilla smiled when she saw his middle finger out the side of his window net.
Aquilla felt like she was in a horror movie. The cars were so fast and she was silently rooting for Patchette. Her adrenalin was pumping like mad, watching the speed in front of her. Patchette was back and forth with car number 3. He would get around him and then get passed. Aquilla was inaudibly cussing and calling him an idiot every time he let the other guy pass him, always in turn four. Turn four, which on the last lap, he let number 3 do it again and came in second. What an idiot.
Aquilla’s dad asked if he wanted her to come in, seeing the dark house, and knowing her mother was probably with her teacher friend.
“No, I’m just going to take a shower and watch television. Thanks for taking me to the race. I enjoyed it,” she smiled.
He smiled back. “You’re welcome. I was thinking of not taking a shower. I think I might just plant grass seed in my hair and see what happens,” he teased.
Aquilla laughed and thanked him again.
She knew what he meant by the grass seed when she looked into the mirror. No wonder her mother complained about the dust. She looked like a raccoon and could feel the layer of dirt on her skin. She didn’t care. She loved it, and would be back there every Saturday night for the rest of the summer.
Chapter 16
Aquilla continued to do her own thing which consisted of Law and Order and reading everything she could about dirt track racing. She figured if she was going to become a regular, she may as well learn the game.
She was sitting out on the front porch reading on her laptop when her mother came out with a glass of lemonade and sat beside her, handing her one.
“Guess what I got in the mail today,” she smiled.
“What?” Aquilla asked, sipping her drink.
“Your test results. You’re kind of a genius,” she smiled, proudly.
“Does that mean I don’t have to go to school?” she asked, hopeful.
“Nope, I still want you to experience that,” she assured her.
Aquilla started to argue when Reese pulled up with Lil and her brother. Reese introduced her to Blain with a big smile. Quill could tell that she was crushing on him. VOMIT…
“Blain is a senior too, Quill,” Liz explained.
Aquilla only nodded. She already didn’t like him. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her. His wandering eyes didn’t go unnoticed. He was cute in a baby kind of cute. She wasn’t the least bit attracted to him. She suddenly wanted to go for a walk when she heard the roar of an engine in a distance.
“What are you doing, Reese?”
“We’re going to the movies.”
“You’re welcome to come along if you want,” Blain offered, smiling at Quill.
“Yeah, Quill. Why don’t you go hang out with your sister and her friends tonight?”
Reese’s disapproving look didn’t go unnoticed either. She didn’t want her to go, Quill could tell.
“No, I think I’m going to go for a walk,” she said, closing the laptop and walking in to get her shoes.
Liz followed her inside.
“I’m going to step out for a bit. You going to be okay here?” she asked.
Freaking Reese, who was two years younger, spent every waking moment running with her friends, and she was the one treated like the five year old.
“Yes. What is it that you think I am going to do?” she angrily asked. And why the hell did she think she had to hide her boyfriend? Aquilla could have cared less what she was doing.
“Nothing, Quill, I was just asking.”
“Sorry,” she said, tying her shoes.
She didn’t look at Blain, knowing he was watching her as she jumped the two steps and headed toward the track.
<>
Patchette wasn’t there. It was another car running laps. She felt a little disappointment for whatever reason. It wasn’t that she found him attractive or anything. She didn’t even really know what he looked like. He had been in some sort of jumpsuit the first and only time she had seen him.
She leaned against the fence with one shoulder as she watched the guy spin around the track.
“Hey feather,” she heard the male voice and turned to see Patchette in low rise jeans, wearing a t-shirt with the sides cut out. His hair was dark and sweaty, messy, probably from a helmet.
“Feather?” Aquilla asked.
He smiled, tilting his pack of M&Ms, letting them pour into his mouth.
“Sorry. I know it has something to do with a bird. I forget your name.”
&nbs
p; Aquilla laughed. “Quill,” she offered. “Glad a made an impression,” she teased.
“Oh you did, just not your name,” he admitted, looking her up and down, not trying to be discrete about it.
He took a step toward her and offered his candy.
“No thanks. I saw you race the other night,” she admitted.
“You did?” he asked surprised. “You were here?”
“Yeah, you did okay,” she said, not sounding impressed.
“Okay? I came in second. That’s more than okay. There were 21 cars on that track,” he informed, nodding toward the track.
“But you could have taken first if you wouldn’t have been riding the outside of turn four. I was watching you. You took the inside of every turn except that one,” she nodded, “and that was the only one he was able to pass you, pretty stupid when it’s the last turn before the finish line, eh?”
“How many races have you attended?” he asked, sitting on the bottom bleacher, resting his elbows on his knees.
Quill noticed the bulkiness in his arms. “One,” she smiled, sitting beside him.
“Then you’re an expert,” he assured her, bumping her shoulder.
He smelled of manly sweat and some sort of lingering cologne.
“Wanna go for a ride?” he asked.
“On the track?” she asked, a little too excited.
“Yeah, where else did you think I was talking about?”
“Hell yeah,” she exclaimed, not trying to hide the excitement.
He smiled and stood, leading her back around the bleachers by his hand on the small of her back.
“Where are we going, I thought we were going down there?”
“We are,” he nodded toward the dirt bike. “You didn’t think we were going to walk all the way down there did you?”
She shrugged. “I just walked two miles to get here,” she replied.
Patchette threw his long leg over first and started the bike. He nodded to the back of the seat after kick starting the bike.
Aquilla kept her hands on her legs until he told her to hold on. She gripped his tight abs and he tromped on the throttle, bringing the front wheel off the ground. She screamed and tightened her grip.